Engine Oil - 2.7 - what do you use

[AntB]

So - am going to do an oil change at the weekend and Opie Oils recommend a good full synth 5w40 for the 2.7 944...

So - just want to see what people use.. The car is being used daily, and I will probabily do an intermittant Oil change between the 12K service (so 6K in).

Thoughts

Anthony

 

[944 man]

Thin oil is usually the cause of high consumption.

 

[AntB]

so - still keeping to the 40 (5w40) the oil at normal engine running temp is no thinner than 10w40 - correct? and if I read it correct the 5w will allow better cold start protection?

 

[944 man]

15w/20w-40 would suit the car better, I think.

 

[JamesO]

10w40 semi synthetic and my car needs no top ups between oil changes.

 

[AntB]

ORIGINAL: 944 man

15w/20w-40 would suit the car better, I think.

Erm - a 15w/20w i think is the wrong rating. The "w" number is the cold crank viscosity, and that rating would not give the correct cold start protection I dont think...

Cheers A

 

[944 man]

Perhaps my brevity has caused confusion. Id suggest, and Porsche recommend: 15 W-40 or 20 W-50 multigrade oil. So: 15 or 20, as opposed to 5 or 10.

Simon

 

[944 man]

Further to this I have 10 w-40 Pro-R synthetic oil in my 944. It was provided by Simon at OPIE by way of sponsorship, for which Im extremely grateful, but its completely unsuitable for the car. The engine barely uses a drop no matter how its driven, but Ive lost one atmosphere of pressure upon changing to it! Pro-R is superb oil and I use it in my Impreza, where its ideal; but along with many other oils recommended by manufacturers, its unsuitable for an old 944 engine. Mobil actually suggest a 0 w-50 for the 924S! Whats best for them isnt whats best for you or your car, but they know youll lap it up, because its a Porsche, isnt it?

 

[Riverside]

ORIGINAL: AntB

Opie Oils recommend a good full synth 5w40

I'd go with whatever Opie recommend frankly, they know a lot more about oil than most []

I use 10w40 or 5w40 fully synthetic in mine now, oil consumption isn't as bad & I get less soot out of the exhaust but mostly because fully synthetic stands up to the heat better during spirited driving than semi. The heat isn't quite as much of an issue on an NA though.

 

[944 man]

They dont know more than Porsche, who manufactured the car. Nor do they actually know anything about the engine and its characteristics, nor how it operates using different grades and types of oil. Im not knocking OPIE, far from it, but you have blind faith in someone who is doing no more than looking at a couple of oil manufacturers suggestions, many of which are rubbish.

Most one hundred and odd thousand mile atmospheric 944 engines would be better off using Castrol GTX High Mileage, than the expensive thin synthetics thats usually used.....

 

[333pg333]

Here is a very comprehensive oil thread. Yes it is long. No, I'm not sure if all the oils in there are available in the UK. Charles Navarro is an expert and well worth listening to.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=367300
Many people are using the wrong oil in their Porsches. Don't be fooled by what Porsche recommend at times either!! They have some commercial alliances that are more important to them than their customers old cars.

 

[Hilux]

What was the original viscosity rating and oil type that they were build with, started up with and ran for thousands of miles without issue?

Mine is at 130K on the original engine and remember synthetics werent around in 1988.

I`m inclined to agree with 944 man totally and am convinced the higher oil consumption I seem to have now (when the car is thrashed) is the modern lower viscosity oil I use now (following recommendations) compared to oil I used when I first owned the car.

I am convinced that good everyday oil like Audi/Vauxhall changed regularly is the way to go.

I noted recently Costco do 25 litres of 10-40 semi for just over £1 per litre for example and their semi diesel engine oil is £1 per litre. They`ve got all the right ratings (I know, I know Opie man will tell me they are cr*p but they are better than the original oils Porsche used twenty years ago) and I might switch from doing a deal at Partco for a pack of 6 x 5litres at about a tenner per 5 litres (the landcruiser alone takes about 13 litres per oil change [8|]) to the Costco stuff.

 

[944 man]

15 W-40 or 20 W-50 according to the owners manual, suitable for temperatures down to -15c.

 

[zcacogp]

ORIGINAL: Hilux
I am convinced that good everyday oil like Audi/Vauxhall changed regularly is the way to go.

I'm of exactly the same opinion.

Search for 'Oil' on here - there's lots and lots and lots that has already been said about it.


Oli.

 

[tr7v8]

ORIGINAL: zcacogp

ORIGINAL: Hilux
I am convinced that good everyday oil like Audi/Vauxhall changed regularly is the way to go.

I'm of exactly the same opinion.

Search for 'Oil' on here - there's lots and lots and lots that has already been said about it.


Oli.

Quite agree, I've had errr debates with Simon because he recommends high spec oil for everything but then he would wouldn't he[8|]His recommendations for the Rover lump in the TR7 V8 were ridiculous!

Mine & my AROs are now on Valvoline Turbo 20/50 which is a mineral oil but at SJ spec. Far higher spec than would have been around when new.
I buy it 4 x 5L from my local guy at 12.50 each 5L & change it every 3-6K or once a year. After the track session at TIPEC Gaydon it was showing 4.5 Bar & this is on a tired (piston rings) 140K mile lux.

 

[zcacogp]

ORIGINAL: tr7v8
Quite agree, I've had errr debates with Simon because he recommends high spec oil for everything but then he would wouldn't he[8|]

<ChapWithNiceHaircut>: Hello Mr Barber. Tell me, do I need to get my hair cut, good sir?

<Barber>: Why of course you do, sir! Step right this way and we'll see how we can help you with that, sir. I take cash, cheques, credit cards, debit cards, first-born sons, virgin daughters, american express ...


Oli.

 

[Hilux]

15 W-40 or 20 W-50 according to the owners manual, suitable for temperatures down to -15c.

Exactly ................. and 20-50 was the norm at that time.

Note also at that time engines/CNC were primitive compared to today so tolerances werent the same. A modern engine is almost blueprinted so the higher viscosity helped. I personally cant see why anyone would use 0-40 5-40 etc

 

[evoboy69]

I'm experiencing mental oil use!! I've just put in 2 litres of 10-40w semi synthetic to one tank of fuel. I need to look into getting the valve stem oil seals replaced"¦

 

[944 man]

Buy a couple of cartons of Castrol GTX High Mileage. Theyre 4 litres each usually, so thatll be enough for a change and then some top ups. Id expect to see a noticable difference, even on a worn engine.

 

[sawood12]

My manual says that the recommended grade for 0 degs c to 15 degs c climate is 5w40 which is what I use and my car thrives on the stuff and doesn't use a drop. I wanted as low a w rating as possible to maximise cold start protection (i.e. where 100% of engine wear occurs so is the most important part of every journey to protect against) as I live very close to a dual carridgeway so before the oil has time to fully warm I'm cruising at 70mph.

Also don't forget that the window of operation, as it were, for a modern fully synthetic oil is far far wider than oils of the '80's so a modern 5w40 will cope with a much wider temperature band than it's '80's equivalent.

If you're using grades 5w40 to 15w50 then you will be fine and any oil consumption issues you have will be down to something else, probably leaky seals. regulating oil consumption and oil pressure by varying oil grades is a very dangerous game and using an oil that is too thick for your car is worse than using one that is too thin. Though I agree 0w30 is way too thin for our cars. This has nothing to do with engine tolerances. There has been no manufacturing technology developments in the last 20yrs which means the tolerances of todays cars couldn't be achieved in the '80's, and CNC technology is all about reduction in production lead-times, reductions in machining costs, automation and flexibility (i.e. no expensive tooling and bespoke jigs and fixtures required and no need for expensive and specialised machine tools). The oil technology in the '80s was very different back then and the engines tolerances would have been designed within the parameters and performance of the engine oil available at the time and not the tolerances the manufactuing methods of the time could achieve. Modern synthetics are like pentium processors compared with the abacus-like oil technology of the '80's.

My mantra is to stick with Porsche recommended grades, good quality premium brands of fully synthetic oils and if you have any oil consumption or oil pressure problems then find out why. Using thicker oils to control oil consumption and/or pressure means you could be masking a much more serious and expensive issue.